All posts tagged SEC

The SEC announced after the market closed it received an emergency court order Friday to freeze the assets of a Swiss trading account that was used in a suspicious trade ahead of Thursday’s news about H.J. Heinz Co.

U.S. authorities have accused a former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney broker of tipping a childhood friend ahead of the $11 billion acquisition of Pharmasset Inc. two years ago in exchange for cash and a jet ski.

James M. Davis, who is 64, was also former CFO of Stanford International Bank. As part of a 2009 guilty plea in the case, Davis said he was aware of Stanford’s misuse of the bank’s assets, and worked to keep the scheme hidden, the Justice Department said.

The SEC case against the auditors, more than four years after the crisis, revives lingering questions about whether auditors did enough to prevent questionable practices and whether authorities have done enough to hold them to account.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused three former executives at Virginia-based Bank of the Commonwealth of breaking securities laws by understating millions in losses to investors during the financial crisis.

Several justices suggested the SEC waited too long to seek penalties against a former money manager and an executive at Gabelli Funds on allegations they allowed an investor to engage in market timing.

Her likeable personality and experience in top regulatory role helped to repair the SEC’s battered image, protect its powers during a big rewrite of financial regulation rules and boost employee morale.

About Corruption Currents

Corruption Currents, The Wall Street Journal’s corruption blog, digs into the ever-present and ever-changing world of corporate corruption. It is a source of news, analysis and commentary for those who earn a living by finding corruption or by avoiding it. Corruption Currents is written by Christopher. M. Matthews and Sam Rubenfeld and edited by Nick Elliott.

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